Armband - Warsaw Ghetto

Armband - Warsaw Ghetto

An armband of a Jew from the Warsaw ghetto, c. 1940s.

In the diary of Mary Berg in the Warsaw Ghetto, she wrote on July 31, 1941: "Nearby, an elderly woman is sitting at a small table selling armbands of various kinds, the price of which ranges from fifty pennies and two zlotys each. The cheapest ones are made of paper and have a Star of David printed on them, while the most expensive ones are made of linen, with an embroidered Star of David and rubber links. In the ghetto there is a great demand for those armbands, as the Germans show a special "sensitivity" at this point; When they see a Jew wearing a crumpled or dirty armband, they hit him on the spot".

The armband before us belongs to the same types that are described in her diary as 'expensive'. See attached photos of selling armbands in the Warsaw ghetto.

According the German Reich regulations, beginning in 1938, every Jew in occupied German territory was required to wear a yellow patch. The patch had to be at least 10 cm, shaped in the form of a star of David, and have "Jude" written in the center. According to the instructions, the patch had to be worn over the garment on the left side of the chest, or on the upper right arm. Jews who forgot the patch when they went out into the street, or wore a patch which did not meet the instructions, were officially expected to receive fines or imprisonment. At the entrances to the homes in Warsaw, warnings were posted against forgetting the armband. In an announcement by the Judenrat on July 26, 1941, it was reported that "according to the authorities' warning, Jews who do not wear the yellow patch on their chests and on their backs will be harshly punished - including death by gunfire." 

23x10 cm. Stains. Good condition.